FOXBORO, Mass. — There's a curious case about Mike Wright, who has missed 15 consecutive practices and each preseason game with an unknown injury.

After he suffered a severe concussion in 2010, though, it was legitimate to wonder if he's still ailing from those symptoms. Yet, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said this issue has nothing to do with last season.

"I don’t think anything that happened last year right now is related to anything that is going on this year," Belichick said about Wright. "Look, you can ask the same question about any player that's not out there. Would we like to see them all out there? Absolutely. When will they be ready? As soon as they're ready. So we'll just have to see how that is with any of the players that you want to mention that aren't out there. It's the same for all of them."

Wright has sporadically been spotted working out to the side of practice, either running, stretching or riding the stationary bike. It's unclear when he'll return to action, but Belichick's indication that Wright's absences have had nothing to do with this year's issue is at least a positive sign.